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Dear Families,
I will be out of school tomorrow and Friday due to an out of town wedding.
Your children will be in great hands while I am out. A wonderful and dedicated substitute teacher, Sue Duffy, will be with them. Sue taught here at MHR for many years and retired a couple of years ago and is now our sub extraordinaire!
I left detailed plans for our daily lessons. The class will keep learning and working hard without missing a beat.
I look forward to seeing everyone when I return on Monday. Please reach out if you have any questions before then.
All My Best,
Geri Tilkes
Week of September 28th
Religion
Our second graders have officially begun their exciting journey through Dynamic Catholic’s BLESSED program as they prepare for their First Reconciliation. This engaging curriculum uses beautiful workbooks and animated short films to show our students just how much God loves them.
Here is a quick look at what we are learning right now:
You Are Blessed: We are exploring the ultimate gift of life. The children are learning that they are uniquely made and deeply loved by God.
The Best-Version-of-Yourself: We are talking about free will and happiness. We discuss how God wants us to make good choices that help us grow into the people He created us to be.
Conscience & Grace: The students are learning how to listen to their conscience to recognize right from wrong. We are introducing the concept of sin and the incredible gift of God’s grace and forgiveness.
Jesus Our Savior: We are looking at how Jesus leads by example. We are learning that no matter what mistakes we make, God's mercy is always waiting for us in the Confessional.
How to connect at home:
Ask your child tonight: "What does it mean to be the best-version-of-yourself?"
ELA
This week we are starting our new Rooted in Reading story called Edward the Emu. Edward is bored with his life at the zoo and feels that being an emu is completely ordinary. Believing that visitors find the other animals much more exciting, he decides to break out of his enclosure and try being someone else.
The Switch: He spends his days copying other animals—swimming with the seals, roaring with the lions, and slithering with the snakes. However, every time he masters a new animal's trick, he overhears a zoo visitor mention that a different animal is actually the best.
The Realization: Finally, Edward overhears a visitor exclaim that the emu is the absolute best animal in the entire zoo!
The Twist: Realizing that being himself is wonderful after all, he rushes back to his enclosure. To his surprise, he finds a new emu named Edwina has moved in. Instead of being upset, Edwina greets him with a smile and tells him that he is the best thing she has seen since arriving at the zoo.
Core Classroom Focus
We use this book over the course of a week to dive deep into text layout and literacy skills. Your child will be practicing:
Summarizing & Narrative Structure: Tracking the beginning, middle, and end of Edward's journey.
Central Message (Theme): Discussing identity, self-acceptance, and why trying to be someone else usually doesn't work out.
Vocabulary & Rhyme: Exploring the story's playful, rhythmic verse and lively animal vocabulary.
The core vocabulary focus for Edward the Emu centers on rich, descriptive verbs and adjectives that highlight Edward's antics and the reactions of the zoo visitors.
The primary tier-two vocabulary words featured in second-grade lessons and vocabulary guides include:
Basked: To relax and lie down happily in a bright, warm place (like Edward did with the seals).
Snarled (or Snarl): To growl fiercely and show teeth (how Edward tried to act like a lion).
Detest: To dislike someone or something very strongly.
Amusing: Funny, entertaining, or enjoyable.
Gumption: Courage, confidence, or guts.
Clamber: To climb or crawl up something in a clumsy or awkward way. [1, 2]
Additional Focus Words
Bore: Something or someone that makes you feel tired, annoyed, or uninterested.
Mimic: To copy or imitate someone else's actions or speech.
Content: Feeling happy, satisfied, and at peace with how things are
How You Can Help At Home
To reinforce these skills at home, try asking your child these quick discussion questions:
“Why did Edward think being an emu was boring at first?”
“What made Edward finally realize that being an emu was actually the best thing after all?”
“What is a special 'character trait' about you that makes you unique, just like Edward?
“Why did Edward think being an emu was boring at first?”
“What made Edward finally realize that being an emu was actually the best thing after all?”
“What is a special 'character trait' about you that makes you unique, just like Edward?
Chapter 2 focuses entirely on Number Patterns. This chapter shifts your child's focus toward mastering how numbers relate to one another, moving beyond simple counting into foundational algebraic thinking and structural number sense.
Here is a parent-friendly synopsis of the core skills and concepts your child is learning in this chapter, aligned with Common Core standards:
Core Focus Areas
Skip-Counting: Students practice counting fluently within 1,000. They move past counting by 1s and focus deeply on skip-counting by 5s, 10s, and 100s.
Identifying Patterns: Children learn to look at a sequence of numbers (e.g., 235, 245, 255...) and figure out the hidden "rule" (in this case, "+10").
Mental Math & Fluency: Skip-counting by 10s and 100s strongly reinforces place value. It helps children naturally see which digit changes (the tens place or the hundreds place) when adding or subtracting quickly in their heads.
Typical Lessons & Homework
Throughout the 7 core lessons of this chapter, your child will complete classroom tasks and homework assignments that ask them to:
Fill in the missing numbers on number lines or charts.
Extend a pattern that has already been started.
Solve word problems using patterns (e.g., "Mia saves $5 every week. If she has $20 now, how much will she have in three weeks?").
How to Help at Home
You don't need the textbook to practice these concepts! You can easily reinforce Chapter 2 skills during daily routines:
Count the Coins: Practice skip-counting by 5s using nickels or 10s using dimes.
Dinner Table Patterns: Start a pattern out loud while making dinner (e.g., "150, 250, 350...") and ask your child to say the next three numbers.
Find the Mistake: Give your child a broken pattern (e.g., "5, 10, 15, 22, 25") and challenge them to find and fix the "broken" number.
Science
We are starting an exciting new science unit from Mystery Science called Animal Adventures. In this unit, students will explore the amazing world of animal adaptations and how different features help animals survive in their habitats.
Over the next few weeks, your child will become a scientist as we investigate questions like:
How do animals stay safe? (Looking at camouflage, shells, and defensive behaviors)
How do animals find food? (Exploring different beak shapes, teeth, and hunting strategies)
Why do some animals live in groups? (Understanding how teamwork helps animals survive)
We are looking forward to a fun hands-on unit filled with observations, activities, and discoveries! Thank you for supporting your young scientist's learning.
Social Studies
We will be using Scholastic News to build essential reading skills while exploring the world around us.
Scholastic News is a high-interest weekly magazine designed specifically for second graders. It connects current events, science, and social studies topics to our daily reading and writing curriculum.
Here is a look at what your child will be learning from our upcoming issues:
📖 Nonfiction Reading & Vocabulary
Reading informational text is a major focus in second grade. Through these articles, your child will practice:
Using text features: Learning how to navigate headings, captions, maps, and bold vocabulary words to better understand a text.
Finding the main idea: Identifying the big picture of an article and locating supporting details.
Building vocabulary: Encountering new, context-specific words in science and social studies and using them in discussion.
🔬 Science & Social Studies Connections
Our upcoming issues will dive into engaging, real-world themes:
Science & Nature: Exploring animal adaptations, seasonal changes, and how living things interact with their environments.
Civics & History: Learning about community helpers, national holidays, and foundational moments in history.
Media Literacy: Discussing real-world news stories at an age-appropriate level to build global awareness.
💬 Bring the Learning Home
Each issue comes with an online component and a physical magazine that your child will eventually bring home. You can support their learning by asking a few quick questions:
"What was the most surprising thing you read about in Scholastic News this week?"
"Can you show me a photograph in your magazine and read the caption to me?"
"What is one new vocabulary word you learned from this issue?"
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